


Soulmate Lost and Found

by Phlinting



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, M/M, Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One Compliant, Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Two Compliant, Multi, Protective Bucky Barnes, Rare Pairings, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 04:54:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6597562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phlinting/pseuds/Phlinting
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint and Laura have always known they had another soulmate, one they would share, but with the mark sometimes fading away for years at a time they were never certain they were going to meet the man who completed them.</p><p>But when SHIELD falls and Hydra is revealed to have Loki's scepter in its possession, retrieving it sets off a sequence of events that no one had been expecting...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've always loved the idea of soulmates and the problems that might arise from knowing fate has chosen your family for you, so I couldn't quite resist writing one myself.
> 
> Bucky/Clint/Laura is a very rare pairing, but at least part of the reason for my obsession can go to hafital who wrote a story I absolutely love - "Twelve Times Damned, Twelve Times Hopeful" The writing is emotional, the story well-crafted, and the sex scenes very hot - what's not to love? If you haven't read it yet, here's the link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6186712/chapters/14173939

The man was heavily armed, his black Kevlar vest failing to hide the silver glint of his mechanical arm. He ran at her, absolute fear flooding her mind, her instinct to grab her children and run easily thwarted by his quick movements and her heavy belly.

He grabbed her arm and dragged her into the building. People fled all around them, the screams and shrieks of terror filling her ears and fueling her fear.

"Let go! You're scaring everyone. Let me go!" Laura demanded, pulling her children closer even as the man's grip tightened on her arm and he forced them all deeper into the building. There was no way to escape. "My husband will kill you for this." 

His eyes widened and he hesitated a moment, but he recovered quickly and started moving even faster. A few steps later he opened a door and shoved her and the kids into a small windowless room.

And then he did something completely unexpected. He handed her a gun.

"Shoot anyone who comes through this door."

If he'd said anything else, used any other words, given her any other instructions she would have been panicking, possibly even ready to shoot him, but those seven words meant more, way more, and so she took the gun, thumbed off the safety, and nodded her understanding.

He gave her a grim nod, slipped out the door, and closed it soundlessly behind him.

~*~

_Three months earlier…_

"It's back," Laura said quietly as she traced the words scrawled in a heavy hand over the skin of Clint's left shoulder.

"Yours too?" Clint asked, gently urging his wife to turn over so he could check for himself. Just as he'd suspected the words that had been faded for the past several years were once again clear and easy to read. "When did that happen?"

Laura shook her head. "I don't know. It could have been a couple months ago. I stopped checking."

No one knew what to make of their strange soul marks that bloomed and faded every few years. Usually when a soul mark faded it meant the person's soulmate had died before they'd met, but if that was the case, then Laura's and Clint's third was somehow resurrected every few years. 

Clint shuffled down the bed a little and pulled Laura closer. His last assignment with SHIELD had kept him away far longer than he'd wanted to be gone, and it was very good to finally be home.

"Do you think maybe we'll meet him this time?" Laura asked.

They weren't sure their third was a male, but the words and the handwriting both suggested a man who was used to being in charge, perhaps while in the middle of danger. It wasn't really a stretch to believe Clint might meet someone like that as an agent of SHIELD, but it was disturbing to try and imagine a situation where someone would say to Laura the words written just under her left shoulder blade.

Clint had worked very hard to make sure that no one other than Natasha and Fury even knew that he had a soulmate, a farm, and a couple of kids, but he wasn't naïve enough to believe that could last forever. He'd built several bunkers and soundproofed escape routes under the house and the barn, and he'd taught Laura everything he knew about self-defense and using weapons. 

He'd begun to relax just a little as the kids had gotten old enough to run without being carried, but now that Laura was in the second trimester of pregnancy with their third child he intended to stay close to home as much as possible.

~*~

His plan was nearly shattered only a few days later when Captain American uncovered evidence that Hydra had been growing like a cancer inside SHIELD. It had led to an utter shit storm of violence and destruction, and Natasha had dumped most of SHIELD's top secret information onto the Internet for everyone to see. But the most disturbing part had been discovering that Hydra had many of the confiscated alien items in their possession, including the weapon Loki had used to control Clint during the Chitauri invasion.

When Tony Stark contacted him a few months after the fall of SHIELD to help them find Loki's scepter, Clint didn't want to risk exposing his family by refusing. 

Besides he was only supposed to be gone a few days.

~*~

Laura had always refused to feel afraid when her husband, soulmate, and father of her children went to work. She had no intention of taking silly risks—and she would forever be grateful that Clint had been paranoid enough to keep their existence out of Hydra-SHIELD's knowledge—but she saw no reason to change her routines. Everyone in the small town and the local school nearby believed her husband was in the military, so they were more likely to ask questions if she changed her routine than if she stuck to it.

"How was school?" she asked as Lila scrambled into the car and Laura leaned in to help her with the seatbelt. 

"Sara Tyler is a liar, liar, liar," she said in a sing-song voice. It sounded more like a taunt than an actual complaint so she gave her daughter a serious look. Yesterday Sara was Lila's best friend.

"Why would you say that?"

Lila shrugged, clearly having forgotten what the probable argument had been about.

Deciding this could wait until they got home, Laura quickly fastened Lila safely in her booster and then climbed into the driver's seat. Cooper's school wasn't very far from Lila's pre-school, but between the heat, the baby, and the last few sleepless nights without Clint, Laura was tired enough to drive the short distance.

She was relieved to see Cooper waiting for her at the corner, but when she got close enough to see his face she knew something was very wrong.

"Cooper, what happened?"

"I didn't start it," he said defensively. He glanced over his shoulder at the vice-principal who was standing on the steps of the building glaring daggers at her son. "But Mr. Mathewson wants to talk to you."

Still annoyed enough from the last time she'd spoken to the self-important little troll who apparently believed being pregnant somehow made her stupid, Laura parked the car, grabbed Lila and Cooper and headed inside, determined to get to the bottom of whatever this was as quickly as possible.

She wasn't quite on the steps of the building when the gunshots started and a heavily armed man with long dark hair and a metal arm ran at her and the kids.


	2. Chapter 2

Terror streaked through Bucky when he realized he was too late. Hawkeye's family was out in the open, exposed and easy to attack.

And the Avengers weren't even in the country.

He bolted across the open area, grabbed Laura by her upper arm, and hurried her into the building. He didn't even realize how hard his grip was until she uttered the words written on the inside of his left thigh.

_"Let go! You're scaring everyone. Let me go!"_ Laura pulled violently against his hold, but he couldn't afford to let go. They had no time. _"My husband will kill you for this."_

The realization that she was very likely his soulmate was quickly overridden by the fear he already felt for her and her kids. He'd never even met Clint Barton, but if Bucky had been able to piece enough information together to realize the man had a wife and kids, there was no doubt that the metal robot men currently terrorizing every country around the world would figure it out too.

Judging by the cacophony of violent sounds around them he was already too late. He'd stand and fight, but he needed Laura, Cooper, and Lila in a safe space first.

The janitor's closet was in the middle of the building and a quick visual check confirmed that it was a windowless room with concrete walls. Bucky had a million instructions he wanted to give, but he could already hear the telltale whine of thrusters very much the same as Iron Man's.

He handed Laura his smallest gun, hoping like hell Barton had taught his wife how to use one. _"Shoot anyone who comes through this door."_ "

Her eyes widened momentarily, but she took the gun, expertly thumbed off the safety, and nodded her understanding. Bucky slipped back into the hallway and took in the chaos going on around him.

~*~

Clint was still nursing a sprained ego when he found Natasha. He'd managed to avoid letting the little witch close enough to mess with his mind, but her super speedy brother had knocked him on his ass rescuing her from Clint.

Considering the state Natasha was in, it was a bad day all around.

But it only got worse when Tony called for a lullaby for the Hulk and they realized the rest of the team was down also. Clint managed to gather Natasha, Steve, and Thor, and get them back into the quinjet, but it took a lot longer for Tony to subdue the Hulk.

It probably wasn't the wisest decision Clint had ever made, but once everyone was onboard he laid in their course and headed for home.

~*~

No one came through the door, but Laura didn't let her guard down. She waited tense and alert, flinching at the piercing sound of gunfire and screeching metal, until the noise suddenly stopped and the man with the metal arm came back for them.

She wanted to ask a million questions—this man was her and Clint's missing soulmate—but instead she turned to gather her son and daughter. Surprisingly Lila didn't protest when the man scooped her up with his metal arm and held her pressed against his chest, his silver hand cradling the back of her head protectively while he did a visual check of Laura and Cooper.

"More will come," he said quietly, making sure Lila's field of vision was limited to only Laura and Cooper. "We need to get to a safe house."

"Home," Laura said, trying to find the words to explain the things Clint had built to protect them. "Panic rooms. Supplies." She glanced at the myriad of weapons visible on her savior and knew enough about people like him to know he probably carried many more. "Also weapons and ammunition."

The man nodded. 

"Stay close."

~*~

Clint landed the quinjet in the usual spot and glanced at Natasha before he opened the door. He knew he was taking a risk letting more people know about his family, but maybe it was also him being a bit selfish. Considering the enemy they were up against, letting the Avengers in on his secret probably wasn't the worst decision he could make.

He wasn't really surprised to find the house empty. If Laura had been watching the television at all she would know what had happened with the Hulk in Wakanda and she would have seen the reports of metal "men" raiding factories all over the world. She'd most likely collected the kids from school and taken them directly into one of the safe rooms, and was probably watching through the surveillance equipment long before he and the rest of the Avengers stepped into the house.

"Nat?" he asked, not really needing to explain what was going on. She'd helped him design and equip the panic rooms after all.

She nodded. "I'll show the others around."

Clint took the stairs two at a time, eager to see his family and know for himself that they were fine. What he wasn't expecting was to find the Winter Soldier standing in his way.

"What the fuck are you doing in my daughter's bedroom?"


	3. Chapter 3

_"What the fuck are you doing in my daughter's bedroom?"_

The man actually grinned at Clint's angry words and that got Clint's ire up enough for his training to kick in. Unfortunately the guy not only anticipated Clint's reaction he moved so fast that the gun he'd been reaching for had barely touched his fingers before he was being disarmed.

"They're safe. I promise you they're safe."

Clint hesitated long enough for the man to wrap him in a surprising affectionate hold.

"They're my words," Clint whispered.

The man raised an eyebrow and Clint finally realized that this man wasn't just the Winter Soldier, he was also James Buchanan Barnes, AKA Captain America's best friend. "Um…" He hesitated. "What should I call you? And…ah…I should probably warn you that Steve is downstairs."

"Call me Bucky," the man said, leaning in to press a kiss to Clint's lips and then wincing as if he'd done something wrong. He seemed to take a moment to gather his composure, then released his grip on Clint, and took a step back. "When this is done, we'll talk. Go say hi to Laura and the kids." He tilted his head toward the secret entrance down to the basement panic room. "I need to have a quiet word with Captain America."

Clint nodded but lifted his hand to his ear to activate his comm unit. He couldn't simply let the Winter Soldier walk down the stairs and step into a room with five of the six Avengers. Avoiding a fight was the least he could do for the man who was here protecting his family.

"Steve?" Clint asked via the comms.

Steve's answer was immediate, his concern for Clint very obvious in his tone.

"Could you come upstairs a moment? An old friend of yours would like to say hello."

Clint was a little startled to realize that Steve was not only racing up the stairs but from the sound of it, so were the rest of the team as well. He didn't even have to think about putting himself between his team and his soulmate. He just did it.

"Any reason why they're about to storm my daughter's bedroom?" he asked Bucky over his shoulder.

"I might have put a few bullets in Steve when we ran into each other in DC."

"Ah…yeah, that was you," Clint said laughing softly. He'd never been one to get a quiet life. "Any chance you still want to shoot him?"

"I'll let you know after our chat," Bucky said, smiling widely even as Steve's head poked momentarily into the bedroom. "Hi, punk."

"Bucky?" Steve asked cautiously, his shield held in front of him as he moved into the room, Bruce and Natasha right behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"Finding my soulmates, apparently," Bucky said, moving close enough to Clint to be pressed up against his back.

"Mates? As in plural?" Steve asked skeptically. 

"You're Laura's soulmate too," Natasha said, smiling that tiny smile that meant she understood more than any of them knew. She pulled out her phone and started tapping away.

"Who's Laura?" Steve asked looking terribly confused.

"That'd be my wife," Clint offered, wishing now that he'd at least mentioned whose home they were going to when they were all in the quinjet.

"You're married?"

"And we have kids," Clint said, glancing at Bucky and wondering if he'd had a chance to meet them yet. But then, almost as if his brain had come to a screeching halt, Laura's soul words from this man filled his head. "You said they were okay."

"They are okay." Bucky gently urged Clint to turn around so that he could see his face. "There was some trouble at Cooper's school." Natasha snorted at what was probably an understatement. Apparently she was using her phone to search through the information that had already been uploaded to the Internet by the people who had been there. "But they're all fine," Bucky said with a warm smile. "Laura didn't need to shoot anyone, the kids didn't see anything, and the only things that came after them are now scrap metal. I didn't even need to kill anybody."

Clint's knees sagged in relief.

"Go check on them," Bucky said, briefly touching his metal fingers to Clint's face, "while I talk to Steve."

Clint gave Steve a look that he hoped conveyed how mad he would be if Steve said or did the wrong thing and upset his soulmate, and then he turned to the secret entrance and took the ladder down to the panic room in the basement.

~*~

Laura had spent the last five minutes trying to distract herself from whatever was going on upstairs by getting to the bottom of why the vice-principal had wanted to talk to her about her son.

Cooper's lip was split and his cheek showed a faint bruise. It was pretty clear that he'd been in a fight but now that he had the excuse of whatever had happened afterward—and honestly Laura still didn't understand why a bunch of Iron Man lookalikes would come after her and the kids—he was reluctant to talk.

"I'll just find out tomorrow when you go back to school." It was a terrible bluff. Cooper had seen the state of the school after Bucky had destroyed the robots that had been after them. It was going to take at least a few days, maybe even a couple of weeks, to get the school back to workable order. Fortunately Cooper huffed in annoyance, rolled his eyes the way his father always did, and finally gave her a half truth.

"Jamie was telling lies to everyone."

Considering the conversation she'd had with Lila in the car about her best friend also being a liar, Laura was more than a little disturbed to hear Cooper had been fighting with his own best friend over the same kind of thing.

"What lies?" Laura asked, using her "mom" voice that said Cooper had no more wiggle room. She wanted the truth, the _full_ truth, right now. "What were Jamie and Sara saying?"

Cooper turned his startled glance to Lila and finally gave Laura what she asked for. "Jamie said the Avengers were a group of criminals who should be locked in jail." 

"And Sara said the 'vengers were bad people," Lila added, "and we got to hide under the bed from them."

Laura shook her head and hugged both of her children to her. 

"You're right," she said to her children, "those are lies. The Avengers are heroes and they protect people all the time. You don't ever need to be afraid of them." 

Lila probably didn't really understand that her father was an Avenger, but the heroes who'd fought the Battle of New York and literally saved the planet from alien invasion were always spoken about in their home in a positive light. 

Cooper was old enough to be aware of the role his father had played in the Chitauri invasion—both under Loki's control and afterward thanks to the damn Internet—but the one thing he knew for certain was that his dad often risked his life to save complete strangers. 

The Avengers were known worldwide and for the most part were very successful in saving lives, so whatever had happened to turn public opinion against them it must have been big.

And it explained why Clint had brought them all here.

The moment she saw him on the monitor she moved quickly to unlock the door and let him in. When Clint finally wrapped his arms around her and the kids the relief she felt was almost painful.

~*~

Now that they were face-to-face Bucky had no idea where to start.

"Do you remember me?" Steve asked, still keeping his distance, still holding his shield in front of him and his team. Bruce stayed near the doorway, obviously ready to hulk-out if required, but Thor and Natasha seemed unconcerned. Tony Stark just looked bored.

"I remember bits and pieces—you and the commandos, and your mom's funeral, and falling from a train," he said, stumbling over the words. "The memories are coming back slowly, but so far I have no time reference. I don't know what happened first or why or how, but I do remember being your friend."

"Why are you here?" 

Bucky raised an eyebrow since he'd already explained about his soulmates.

Steve wasn't fooled. "How did you know about Clint's family?"

"I was going through old files"—no need to explain the way he'd come by them or the Hydra blood that had been spilled in the process—"and I followed the money trail back to Clint's farm. After that it was pretty easy to piece together the rest." He glanced over his shoulder, not really wanting to worry his soulmates with certain disturbing details just yet. "When the news broke about Ultron, I figured if I could find them, so could he, and well, judging by the attack at the school Ultron wanted to find them."

"For what purpose? To what end?" Steve asked the room in general. "Ultron and the twins already have public opinion turning against us."

Bucky shook his head. "I can only guess that he wanted the Avengers distracted. You're the best chance we have of defeating him, but you'd turn the entire team's focus to finding Clint's family if they went missing."

Steve nodded, conceding the point. He glanced at Tony, who was already on the phone arranging extra protection for Pepper, Jane, and Darcy—three names that were also familiar from Bucky's research into the Avengers.

"If we'd known they existed," Steve said, his tone frustrated, "we would have moved to protect them earlier." 

Bucky nodded, but he knew it wasn't the full truth. Yes, Steve was now worried for everyone who had regular contact with the Avengers, but if he'd thought Ultron would make the fight personal in this way he would already have had Pepper and the others under extra protection. 

And in all honesty, Bucky had thought he was only being paranoid when he'd made the decision to come and protect the Barton family. A part of him had already acknowledged a few weeks ago that he'd begun craving contact with other people. 

He'd never suspected that Clint and Laura were his soulmates.

And he would have come to help even if they weren't.

But he was very grateful to have found them both safe and well and in love with each other. Considering the soul words tattooed onto his thighs things could have been a whole lot worse.

Clint made plenty of noise as he climbed the ladder, making sure everyone in the room knew he had Lila in his arms, with Cooper and Laura not far behind.

"Okay," Clint said, not batting an eyelash when Lila held her arms out for Bucky. He simply handed his daughter over, grinned at everyone in the room, and put the rest of the discussion on hold when he announced it was time for dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

Bucky hovered near the exit of the small panic room and wondered what to do now. Clint and Laura had invited him to stay with them and the children, rather than sleep upstairs with the rest of Clint's team, but Bucky had no idea what that actually meant. Where was the line drawn? They were soulmates, yes, but that didn't mean he had any claim on them. They'd obviously been together for more than a decade, so where did that leave him?

The weird part was that it really didn't matter. Lover, friend, favorite uncle, or even just extra security, Bucky was willing to take any role if it meant staying close to the two people fate had chosen as his.

Since noticing the marks he'd never really thought he'd find them and, considering their words, he'd never imagined they'd actually welcome him into their lives. 

Just being here was a miracle and he wouldn't ask for any more.

~*~

"We finally found him," Laura whispered when Clint was close enough to hear her clearly.

"I think he found us," Clint said, not bothering to lower his voice. "And the guy's a super soldier with enhanced senses, so I'm pretty sure he can hear you."

Laura blushed, tucked her hair behind her ear, and gave Bucky a shy smile. "Sorry," she mouthed almost silently.

Bucky smiled from his position at the door and nodded his head in acknowledgment. Clint couldn't believe how much he wanted to kiss the man right then. Even without knowing who Bucky was, Clint would have been physically attracted, but knowing that he wore their marks and that he'd selflessly protected his family made Bucky irresistible. 

It was probably just as well they had the kids to worry about first.

~*~

Laura couldn't ignore the tension building in the small room. Bucky was standing straight and alert, his demeanor a little too much like the photos of the Winter Soldier she'd seen on the Internet. 

But that wasn't the man who'd protected her and the kids earlier. Her soulmate was clearly a good man who'd survived years of brainwashing and torture to find his way back to the man he'd once been. He deserved a chance to be happy, and if Laura and Clint had anything to say about it, he would be.

She reached over to her husband, squeezed his hand, and silently asked him to take over getting the kids ready for bed. Their routine was already shot to pieces thanks to the part where they were temporarily living under the house, but Clint had everything under control.

Rather than fall onto the bed the way her tired feet demanded, Laura moved over to Bucky, held her hand out for him to take, and then pulled him toward her. He glanced in Clint's direction, and seemed surprised to see the smile on her husband's face. 

"There are four Avengers upstairs protecting the house, so you can relax for a while."

The unsure smile on Bucky's face broke her heart. She urged him closer and wrapped her arms around him. It was awkward with the baby belly in the way, but they managed to hold each other nevertheless.

"We've known since Clint and I met that we also shared a soulmate." He didn't really need to know about the times that his words had faded and they'd grieved for a man they'd never met. "Bucky, you're home now. You belong here." She lifted up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "And I'm really glad you found us."

"I am too," Bucky said. His words were calm but she sensed the quiet desperation behind them. He touched the purpling bruise on her upper arm. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't be," Laura said, glad to at least be able to give him this. "It's the only way I would have gone with you. I'm rather stubborn like that." She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You saved me and the kids, Bucky. That's far more important than an accidental bruise that will fade."

Bucky gave her a half smile and seemed ready to pull away and go back to where he'd been standing guard at the door. She had known at least part of the Winter Soldier's story, but over dinner, Natasha had given her a quick summary of what Bucky Barnes had likely lived through the past few months. He'd been alone for so very long that he'd likely forgotten the comfort of human touch. Instead of letting him go, Laura pulled him toward the bed and urged him to sit down beside her. 

A little bit lost for words, Laura smiled instead when Clint pulled the door to the smaller room closed behind him and whispered that the kids were finally asleep. He moved to kneel on the floor in front of them, his eyes never leaving Bucky's as he slowly moved forward and pressed a kiss to the man's lips.

Bucky's gaze darted to Laura, obviously worried about her reaction, but he visibly relaxed when he saw her smile. He leaned into Clint then, and the kiss between her soulmates grew truly beautiful, soft and slow, welcoming and emotional, an apology and a promise and everything in between. She both felt and saw their reactions, knew the exact moment that their kiss turned into more, heard the twin groans as their need for each other grew.

She wasn't surprised when they turned to include her, Clint carefully lifting her to sit on Bucky's lap, and then reaching for Bucky's hand. He threaded their fingers together and then smoothed their entwined hands over her belly. Both men smiled when the baby wriggled inside her.

"We're all really glad you found your way home," Clint whispered. 

"I'm not a good man," Bucky said almost silently, his voice breaking with emotion. "You don't know half of what I've done."

"We know the important things," Laura said, trying not to sound dismissive of his fears but needing to get her point across before Bucky convinced himself that he didn't belong with them. "You risked your own life protecting me and the kids when we were nothing more than strangers to you." She reached for his and Clint's entwined hands, cupping them between both of hers. "Those are the actions of a good man." She glanced at Clint, knowing in her heart that the next words were for him as well. "When the decisions were yours to make, you've always made the right ones."

"She's right, Bucky," Clint said, smiling and then pressing a soft kiss to Laura's lips. "Our soulmate is a very clever woman and you'd do well to listen to her."

Grateful for Clint's ability to lighten the mood without breaking the intimacy, Laura grinned at Bucky before reaching over to drag Clint's T-shirt off. "Now," she said, smiling widely when she noticed Bucky couldn't quite keep his eyes off Clint's beautifully sculpted upper body, "I want to watch my soulmates make love to each other first, and then I'll teach you a few things about a pregnant woman's libido."

**Epilogue**

It had been a lot harder to stop Ultron than anyone had ever expected. They'd lost and found Natasha, created an entirely new life form called The Vision, and a young man named Pietro had given his life to save Clint and the child he'd been in the process of rescuing.

And Hulk had flown off to parts unknown without explaining or saying good-bye.

Overall it had been a long and shitty mission but at least Clint had known that his family was safe, that his soulmates were together, and that they'd protect the kids and each other from anything that came their way.

Clint smiled when Bucky came into the room and collapsed onto the sofa beside him. "Long day?" he asked.

Bucky gave him a tired but very happy grin and then cuddled into Clint's side. Clint hugged the man close and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. 

"I had no idea babies were so exhausting," Bucky mumbled sleepily a few minutes later.

Clint hummed his agreement. He couldn't imagine how Laura had coped all those times that he'd been away when Cooper and Lila were younger. He'd always been in complete awe of his wife's emotional strength and ability to see what was most important.

It hadn't been until after he'd gotten home from the Ultron mission that he'd realized how right Laura had been about the Avengers needing Clint to hold them together, to make them a team. Bucky had wanted to go in his place so that Clint could stay behind to protect Laura and the kids. Clint had always considered himself replaceable when it came to the Avengers, so he'd been on the verge of agreeing until Laura had stepped in.

At first Clint had thought his wife was worried that Bucky might have a death wish, and that he wouldn't be as careful or as eager to make it home in one piece as Clint would always be. That had perhaps been a part of it, but it had taken Clint a long time to realize how right Laura had been about everything. The Avengers needed him, a mere human without extraordinary strength or magical abilities, to keep them grounded, to remind them why they continued to fight. It was a humbling and somewhat terrible burden to carry.

With SHIELD no longer around he planned to spend a lot more time at home from now on, but if the Avengers needed him he would always be available.

Bucky seemed to be asleep, but when Laura joined them a few minutes later he sat up long enough to pull her into an embrace between them.

Clint traced his finger over the soul words written in his messy handwriting on her wrist. "Hello, beautiful, come here often?" he read out loud, remembering the way she'd rolled her eyes at his clumsy attempt to flirt with the prettiest woman in the room. He'd been stunned when she'd raised an eyebrow and said the sarcastic words written across his chest. It had been as awkward as he'd imagined it might be, but it had been the beginning of something truly amazing. Discovering that they both had a second set of soul words that faded for years at a time before returning had just proven that they belonged together, and that one day someone very special would likely join them.

It was sad that Clint's first words to Bucky had been so harsh. They were tiny, written at the top his left thigh, but they were words no one should ever have to live with.

"I'm sorry that you've had my horrible words tattooed onto your skin all your life," Clint said, needing Bucky to know how he felt.

The man actually laughed. "Only since you were born," he said. "And I spent most of your life in cryostasis anyway." He leaned in to press a kiss to Laura's lips. "And besides, Laura's are worse."

Laura grinned and winked, suggesting that the two of them had already had this conversation.

"I'm still sorry," Clint said.

~*~

Bucky relaxed and touched Clint's face affectionately. "Don't be sorry," he said. "It's very likely that you and Laura saved my life. If they'd been loving, tender words there's no guessing what Hydra might have done to me." He smiled and tilted his head hoping that Clint realized he was honestly grateful for everything, especially the soul words that had linked him to Clint and Laura, and Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel. "You saved my life simply because no one would mistake me for a good guy with soul words like those."

"I guess not," Clint said, smiling now as well. "I love you."

Bucky had no trouble these days returning the sentiment. "I love you too." 

Fate was a funny thing. Maybe the words that appeared on people's skin were simply just the first words they'd ever say to each other, but maybe there was more to it than that. Maybe the words helped shape the people they'd become. Whatever the reason for their particular words, Bucky wore them with pride, and would never, ever regret having them or the family he'd found.

It had been a long and painful journey, but he was home now and he knew exactly where he belonged.

THE END


End file.
